World’s Safest Capital Cities

Mosque in Abu DhabiFour of the world’s safest cities are Middle Eastern or Asian national capitals, namely Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Doha in Qatar, the island-city Singapore and Taipei in Taiwan. Almost a third (30.5%) of the 334 cities ranked by the Numbeo Safety Index are country capitals.

The Numbeo Safety Index is an estimate based on the psychological perception of city residents. That is, index scores reflect the overall crime level in each city based on how safe citizens feel.

Highlighted below are the ten safest national capitals with the corresponding scores for perceived safety from crime.

Top 10 Safest Capital Cities Ranked

The following country capitals are among the safest cities on the planet, places where people believe they are insulated from criminal activities. In addition to their relative placement versus other capitals, shown within brackets is the latest safety score as assessed using Numbeo Saftey Index scores (updated mid-year 2017).

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: 86.46 (Safety Index score)

Doha, Qatar: 84.13

Singapore: 83.1

Taipei, Taiwan: 82.62

Bern, Switzerland: 81.53

Tokyo, Japan: 80.62

Hong Kong: 79.93

Tbilisi, Georgia: 79.63

Vienna, Austria: 78.91

Copenhagen, Denmark: 78.73

Honorable mention goes to Estonia’s capital city Tallinn with a safety score of 78.63, followed by Australia’s capital city Canberra at 77.24 points.

In North America, the most psychologically secure capital city is Ottawa, Canada at 76.93. The Canadian capital’s safety index score is far ahead of Washington DC in the United States with 42 points and crime-riddled Mexico City, Mexico rated at just 34.65.

Searchable World’s Safest Capital Cities List

To search the 102 country capitals and their respective Numbeo Saftey Index score, peruse the list below. Note that you may sort columns in ascending or descending order by clicking on a column header. Alternatively, you may enter the city name in the Search box shown.

Rank

Capital City

Safety Index Score

1

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

86.46

2

Doha, Qatar

84.13

3

Singapore

83.1

4

Taipei, Taiwan

82.62

5

Bern, Switzerland

81.53

6

Tokyo, Japan

80.62

7

Hong Kong

79.93

8

Tbilisi, Georgia

79.63

9

Vienna, Austria

78.91

10

Copenhagen, Denmark

78.73

11

Tallinn, Estonia

78.63

12

Canberra, Australia

77.24

13

Ottawa, Canada

76.93

14

Reykjavik, Iceland

76.85

15

Minsk, Belarus

76.37

16

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

75.85

17

Helsinki, Finland

75.36

18

Ljubljana, Slovenia

75.29

19

Luxembourg, Luxembourg

73.84

20

Warsaw, Poland

73.7

21

Baku, Azerbaijan

73.31

22

Manama, Bahrain

73.06

23

Jerusalem, Israel

72.55

24

Zagreb, Croatia

72.36

25

Bucharest, Romania

71.82

26

Seoul, South Korea

71.66

27

Prague, Czech Republic

71.12

28

Muscat, Oman

70.39

29

Yerevan, Armenia

69.85

30

Madrid, Spain

69.33

31

Wellington, New Zealand

68.92

32

Bratislava, Slovakia

68.84

33

Nicosia, Cyprus

68

34

Kuwait City, Kuwait

67.53

35

Colombo, Sri Lanka

67.48

36

Lisbon, Portugal

67.41

37

Vilnius, Lithuania

65.96

38

Kathmandu, Nepal

65.64

39

Amsterdam, Netherlands

63.89

40

Tunis, Tunisia

62.94

41

Belgrade, Serbia

61.7

42

Beijing, China

61.79

43

Riga, Latvia

61.58

44

Budapest, Hungary

61.11

45

Islamabad, Pakistan

60.87

46

Berlin, Germany

57.88

47

Tirana, Albania

57.51

48

Ankara, Turkey

56.38

49

Amman, Jordan

56.18

50

Porto, Portugal

55.99

51

Chisinau, Moldova

55.54

52

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

55.36

53

Sofia, Bulgaria

54.91

54

Skopje, Macedonia

54.12

55

Moscow, Russia

54.79

56

Sarajevo, Bosnia And Herzegovina

53.57

57

Oslo, Norway

53.52

58

London, United Kingdom

52.93

59

Stockholm, Sweden

51.49

60

Bangkok, Thailand

51.61

61

Panama City, Panama

51.17

62

Kiev, Ukraine

50.79

63

Beirut, Lebanon

50.61

64

Santiago, Chile

50.49

65

Hanoi, Vietnam

50.14

66

Athens, Greece

50.01

67

Algiers, Algeria

48.28

68

Dublin, Ireland

48.02

69

Harare, Zimbabwe

48.02

70

Brussels, Belgium

47.04

71

Jakarta, Indonesia

46.76

72

Paris, France

46.44

73

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

45.68

74

Quito, Ecuador

44.92

75

Tehran, Iran

45.53

76

Rome, Italy

44.14

77

Montevideo, Uruguay

44.04

78

Cairo, Egypt

42.53

79

Baghdad, Iraq

42

80

Washington, DC, United States

41.94

81

Tripoli, Libya

40.31

82

Delhi, India

38.67

83

Manila, Philippines

39.69

84

Guatemala City, Guatemala

37.35

85

Buenos Aires, Argentina

36.97

86

Nairobi, Kenya

35.95

87

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

35.44

88

Brasilia, Brazil

34.65

89

Mexico City, Mexico

34.45

90

Male, Maldives

34.2

91

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

33.22

92

Damascus, Syria

32.96

93

Kingston, Jamaica

31.58

94

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

31.44

95

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

31.31

96

Dhaka, Bangladesh

30.37

97

Lima, Peru

28.55

98

Windhoek, Namibia

26.54

99

San Salvador, El Salvador

26.54

100

Port Of Spain, Trinidad/Tobago

23.44

101

Caracas, Venezuela

17.64

102

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

16.32

Interestingly, countries home to some of the safest capitals also have among the world’s lowest annual death rates per 1,000 residents. For instance, Qatar has an estimated average 1.5 annual deaths per 1,000 residents–the lowest of any nation. In second place is the United Arab Emirates at 2.0 annual deaths per 1,000 residents.

These lower national mortality rates support the superior Safety Index scores for Qatar’s capital city Doha and Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates.